In this culmination of his search for anthropological concepts and practices appropriate to the twenty-first century, the author contends that to make sense of the contemporary, anthropologists must ...
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In this culmination of his search for anthropological concepts and practices appropriate to the twenty-first century, the author contends that to make sense of the contemporary, anthropologists must invent new forms of inquiry. He begins with an extended rumination on what he gained from two of his formative mentors: Michel Foucault and Clifford Geertz. Reflecting on their lives as teachers and thinkers, as well as human beings, the author poses questions about their critical limitations, unfulfilled hopes, and the lessons he learned from and with them. This spirit of collaboration animates this book, as the author assesses the last ten years of his career, largely spent engaging in a series of intensive experiments in collaborative research and often focused on cutting-edge work in synthetic biology. He candidly details the successes and failures of shifting his teaching practice away from individual projects, placing greater emphasis on participation over observation in research, and designing and using websites as a venue for collaboration. Analyzing these endeavors alongside his efforts to apply an anthropological lens to the natural sciences, the author lays the foundation for an ethically grounded anthropology ready and able to face the challenges of our contemporary world.Less

The Accompaniment : Assembling the Contemporary

Paul Rabinow

Published in print: 2011-11-15

In this culmination of his search for anthropological concepts and practices appropriate to the twenty-first century, the author contends that to make sense of the contemporary, anthropologists must invent new forms of inquiry. He begins with an extended rumination on what he gained from two of his formative mentors: Michel Foucault and Clifford Geertz. Reflecting on their lives as teachers and thinkers, as well as human beings, the author poses questions about their critical limitations, unfulfilled hopes, and the lessons he learned from and with them. This spirit of collaboration animates this book, as the author assesses the last ten years of his career, largely spent engaging in a series of intensive experiments in collaborative research and often focused on cutting-edge work in synthetic biology. He candidly details the successes and failures of shifting his teaching practice away from individual projects, placing greater emphasis on participation over observation in research, and designing and using websites as a venue for collaboration. Analyzing these endeavors alongside his efforts to apply an anthropological lens to the natural sciences, the author lays the foundation for an ethically grounded anthropology ready and able to face the challenges of our contemporary world.

This book asks about the logical standards and forms that should guide ethical and experimental anthropology in the twenty-first century. The authors do so by taking up Max Weber’s notion of the ...
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This book asks about the logical standards and forms that should guide ethical and experimental anthropology in the twenty-first century. The authors do so by taking up Max Weber’s notion of the “demands of the day.” Just as the demand of the day for anthropology decades ago consisted of thinking about fieldwork, today, they argue, the demand is to examine what happens after, how the experiences of fieldwork are gathered, curated, narrated, and ultimately made available for an anthropological practice that moves beyond mere ethnographic description. The authors draw on experiences from an innovative set of anthropological experiments that investigated how and whether the human and biological sciences could be brought into a mutually enriching relationship. Conceptualizing the anthropological and philosophic ramifications of these inquiries, they offer a bold challenge to contemporary anthropology to undertake a more rigorous examination of its own practices, blind spots, and capacities, in order to meet the demands of our day.Less

Demands of the Day : On the Logic of Anthropological Inquiry

Paul RabinowAnthony Stavrianakis

Published in print: 2013-06-15

This book asks about the logical standards and forms that should guide ethical and experimental anthropology in the twenty-first century. The authors do so by taking up Max Weber’s notion of the “demands of the day.” Just as the demand of the day for anthropology decades ago consisted of thinking about fieldwork, today, they argue, the demand is to examine what happens after, how the experiences of fieldwork are gathered, curated, narrated, and ultimately made available for an anthropological practice that moves beyond mere ethnographic description. The authors draw on experiences from an innovative set of anthropological experiments that investigated how and whether the human and biological sciences could be brought into a mutually enriching relationship. Conceptualizing the anthropological and philosophic ramifications of these inquiries, they offer a bold challenge to contemporary anthropology to undertake a more rigorous examination of its own practices, blind spots, and capacities, in order to meet the demands of our day.

The book presents a highly original reflection on the status of an “anthropology of the contemporary”. Following on the same authors’ Demands of the Day, this new and convincing manuscript gives a ...
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The book presents a highly original reflection on the status of an “anthropology of the contemporary”. Following on the same authors’ Demands of the Day, this new and convincing manuscript gives a coherent elaboration of the central arguments, movements and shifts from research rooted in the experience of the present to a contemporary one understood as an ethos. The book contains two highly original case studies which illustrate the relevance and richness of this approach. In Part 1, the authors undertake an erudite discussion of philosophical grounds and concepts necessary for an anthropology of the contemporary by way of an ongoing engagement with arguments established by Max Weber, John Dewey and Michel Foucault (e.g. his notion of ‘foyers d’expérience’), as well as with other authors (e.g. Kant, Blumenberg, Warburg, Geertz). Central to this engagement is the guiding idea of anthropological inquiry as ‘practice of form-giving’ linked to an ongoing attention to questions of ethics. The book considers inquiry--and its aftermath—where a near future is at stake, one, however, which is not (or only in part) determined by the past and the present. Part II consists of two case studies: one on the Rushdie Affair, the second one on ‘Gerhard Richter’s Pathos’. Based on different kinds of texts (interviews, letters, printed articles, anthropological research, etc.), they demonstrate the basic ideas of an exploration of the contemporary and its key challenge (for anthropology and contemporaries): how to conceptualize and give form to breakdowns of truth and conduct.Less

Designs on the Contemporary : Anthropological Tests

Paul RabinowAnthony Stavrianakis

Published in print: 2014-05-21

The book presents a highly original reflection on the status of an “anthropology of the contemporary”. Following on the same authors’ Demands of the Day, this new and convincing manuscript gives a coherent elaboration of the central arguments, movements and shifts from research rooted in the experience of the present to a contemporary one understood as an ethos. The book contains two highly original case studies which illustrate the relevance and richness of this approach. In Part 1, the authors undertake an erudite discussion of philosophical grounds and concepts necessary for an anthropology of the contemporary by way of an ongoing engagement with arguments established by Max Weber, John Dewey and Michel Foucault (e.g. his notion of ‘foyers d’expérience’), as well as with other authors (e.g. Kant, Blumenberg, Warburg, Geertz). Central to this engagement is the guiding idea of anthropological inquiry as ‘practice of form-giving’ linked to an ongoing attention to questions of ethics. The book considers inquiry--and its aftermath—where a near future is at stake, one, however, which is not (or only in part) determined by the past and the present. Part II consists of two case studies: one on the Rushdie Affair, the second one on ‘Gerhard Richter’s Pathos’. Based on different kinds of texts (interviews, letters, printed articles, anthropological research, etc.), they demonstrate the basic ideas of an exploration of the contemporary and its key challenge (for anthropology and contemporaries): how to conceptualize and give form to breakdowns of truth and conduct.

Methods that Matter is an invitation to explore the benefits of mixed methods. This collection of original essays by leading social scientists illustrates ways of doing work that crosses ...
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Methods that Matter is an invitation to explore the benefits of mixed methods. This collection of original essays by leading social scientists illustrates ways of doing work that crosses methodological silos and can inform policy on real world problems. Mixed methods research, if used by individual or collaborating researchers, enables the collection of generalizable and contextualized data simultaneously. Is it worth the effort it takes to go past the methodological comfort zones of particular disciplines? The authors in this book answer with a resounding “Yes!” In their engagingly written chapters, they demonstrate that mixed methods is more than worth the effort—it can lead to more interesting findings than either qualitative or quantitative methodologies alone. This collection ultimately creates a platform for scholarly conversations across disciplines that expand scientific and encourage future interdisciplinary collaborations to answer the real world questions of tomorrow.Less

Methods That Matter : Integrating Mixed Methods for More Effective Social Science Research

Published in print: 2016-05-02

Methods that Matter is an invitation to explore the benefits of mixed methods. This collection of original essays by leading social scientists illustrates ways of doing work that crosses methodological silos and can inform policy on real world problems. Mixed methods research, if used by individual or collaborating researchers, enables the collection of generalizable and contextualized data simultaneously. Is it worth the effort it takes to go past the methodological comfort zones of particular disciplines? The authors in this book answer with a resounding “Yes!” In their engagingly written chapters, they demonstrate that mixed methods is more than worth the effort—it can lead to more interesting findings than either qualitative or quantitative methodologies alone. This collection ultimately creates a platform for scholarly conversations across disciplines that expand scientific and encourage future interdisciplinary collaborations to answer the real world questions of tomorrow.

As the image of anthropologists exploring exotic locales and filling in blanks on the map has faded, the idea that cultural anthropology has much to say about the contemporary world has likewise ...
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As the image of anthropologists exploring exotic locales and filling in blanks on the map has faded, the idea that cultural anthropology has much to say about the contemporary world has likewise diminished. In an increasingly smaller world, how can anthropology help us to tackle the concerns of a global society? This book argues that the traditional tool of the cultural anthropologist—ethnography—can still function as an intellectually exciting way to understand our interconnected, yet mysterious worlds. It describes the changing nature of ethnography as anthropologists use it to analyze places closer to home. The book maintains that a conversational style of ethnography can help us look beyond our assumptions and gain new insight into arenas of contemporary life such as corporations, financial institutions, science, the military, and religion. It is a friendly challenge to anthropologists to shed light on the present and join broader streams of intellectual life. And for those outside the discipline, its vision of ethnography opens up the prospect of understanding our own world in much greater depth.Less

Navigators of the Contemporary : Why Ethnography Matters

David A. Westbrook

Published in print: 2008-11-15

As the image of anthropologists exploring exotic locales and filling in blanks on the map has faded, the idea that cultural anthropology has much to say about the contemporary world has likewise diminished. In an increasingly smaller world, how can anthropology help us to tackle the concerns of a global society? This book argues that the traditional tool of the cultural anthropologist—ethnography—can still function as an intellectually exciting way to understand our interconnected, yet mysterious worlds. It describes the changing nature of ethnography as anthropologists use it to analyze places closer to home. The book maintains that a conversational style of ethnography can help us look beyond our assumptions and gain new insight into arenas of contemporary life such as corporations, financial institutions, science, the military, and religion. It is a friendly challenge to anthropologists to shed light on the present and join broader streams of intellectual life. And for those outside the discipline, its vision of ethnography opens up the prospect of understanding our own world in much greater depth.

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